Once upon a time (there lived three Animagi and one werewolf)
by HermyLuna2
Summary: This will be a collection of my entries for the lovely Marauder's Era Competition by A Sirius Crush on Mooney.
1. Bonds greater than mercy

_This is written for round 2: A character falls in love with somebody. I got Rodolphus Lestrange. The prompts were spinning, game, arched, wrap and golden.**  
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><p><span><strong>Bonds greater than mercy<strong>

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><p>When Rodolphus Lestrange had turned twenty-one, he heard the unsurprising words.<p>

"You arrived at the age that's ideal for marriage" father said, his eyes twinkling greedily.

"And we already found a suitable bride" mother added.

Rodolphus blinked without enthousiasm. In his head he listed the women that mother could have referred to. His niece, Adelise Rosier? His aunt and uncle were basically entwined with the Ministry. His other niece, Camilla Lestrange? She wasn't as good-looking, but decent. Narcissa Black? She was gorgeous, but already taken by Lucius.

"Bellatrix Black" father announced.

"Bellatrix?!" Rodolphus repeated, astonished. He had been friends with Bellatrix for a long time, but their friendship had faded after they had all graduated from Hogwarts, and Bellatrix had called Lucius, Augustus and him 'the worst Death Eaters I've ever seen' and 'a shame for the Dark Lord'.

"We were surprised too. Aren't you grateful that Cygnus three and Druella thought of us as worthy enough?" mother asked.

"Worthy? We're more like their welfare case. They must be trying to palm Bellatrix off for years! I hadn't even considered her. She is mad! Not just a bit mad, howling mad. Nutty as a nutcracker!" Rodolphus shouted.

"You don't speak of a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black like that!" father bellowed, pointing with his finger in Rodolphus' direction. "They are the wealthiest, richest, most influential and oldest pureblooded family in whole Britain. They will help to rebuild Floo-pow in France, and - you - will - marry - Bellatrix - Black!" The last sentence was accompanied by lots of spit.

It was pathetic, really, their desperate clinging to wealth and power. Father was the owner of Floo-pow, that he inherited from grandfather, and Rodolphus worked for him as a secretary with the outlook of taking over the company. They recently lost their holding in France, but Floo-Pow was still quite succesfull in Britain. Besides, Lord Voldemort would greatly reward Rodolphus after the planned battles he was going to partake in. What did he need Bellatrix for? Still, he knew that there was no use in refusing.

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><p>Bellatrix was late for their appointment. Rodolphus didn't mind - he wasn't really looking forward to meeting her again in these circumstances anyway.<p>

Then there was a loud CRACK! and a tall, slender, hooded figure appeared in the tall livingroom of their manor house. Bellatrix hastily threw off her cloak and looked around disapprovingly with sly, dark eyes from under heavy eyelids with long, black eyelashes. Her thick black hair hung scraggly past her face. Rodolphus realised he had forgotten the perfect structure of her face, the high cheekbones, defined chin and elegant nose. She was almost as pretty as Narcissa. Almost.

"It's cold here" Bellatrix said, although the atmosphere wasn't nearly as cold as her voice. She pointed her wand at their fireplace. "_Incendio!_" Immediately flames sprouted from the ashes. She threw Rodolphus an ugly look , stuck out a slender arm and said: "We can make the Marriage Vow right now, can we?", in a tone as if in a hurry.

"Er..." father began, obviously disappointed. Mother got tears in her eyes and swallowed. "We had something different in-" father continued, but then he seemed to change his mind, raising his voice: "I don't see why that would be a problem".

Indignantly, Rodolphus grabbed Bellatrix' hand. Father swallowed and pointed his wand at their entwined fingers.

"Do you, Bellatrix Andulka Paulina Black, take Rodolphus Gauthier Dicun Lestrange as your companion for life, in health and sickness, in fortune and poverty, during peace and war, when disaster strucks you, when Rodolphus ends up with one leg-" father began.

"I will!" Bellatrix interjected impatiently. A silver flame shot out of father's wand and wound around their hands.

"And do you, Rodolphus Gauthier Dicun Lestrange, take Bellatrix Andulka Paulina Black as your companion for-"

"I will" Rodolphus interjected indifferently. Another silver flame shot out of father's wand, and interlinked with the other, wrapping their both hands.

"Alright, er-" Father seemed to hesitate, but then he declared: "I now announce you bonded for life". A bright shower of golden sparks shot out of his wand, softly raining down upon them, highlighting Bellatrix' face, which, for a second, did not look so impatient anymore. Mother cried softly in her handkerchief.  
>Rodolphus could see how in any other occasion this could have been a beautiful, even sentimental moment. He shook his head. He did not do beautiful, sentimental moments.<p>

"Next day we'll make it official.." Bellatrix said, "I need to visit the Ministry anyway, to request the re-opening of my case by the Wizengamot.. They sentenced me for two weeks in Azkaban for what they called torturing two Muggle children... It wasn't two Muggle children, it was four!"

Not understanding why she would want to rectify this, Rodolphus grabbed Bellatrix' wrist and dragged her towards the kitchen. "Why did you do it?" he wanted to know.

Bellatrix looked at him haughtily, but there was also a quick flash of something undefinable in her expression. "Our Dark Lord thought it would be a good idea" she huffed.

Rodolphus was gobsmacked. Lord Voldemort thought it would be a good idea if they married?

"He sees us both as his most faithful followers." Bellatrix replied to his unspoken question in a voice as if she thought that did not do her justice. "He thinks we're really suited for each other" she continued as if this was an incredible insult.

But Rodolphus did not think of it as an insult at all. The Dark Lord thought they were suited for each other? The Dark Lord actually wasted his precious time thinking about them both? Suddenly, his marriage got a whole new meaning. Bellatrix was his love for the Dark Lord personified, from her straggly black hair to her repulsive glares.

"So, where do we get to live? I hope it's somewhere decent?" Bellatrix asked.

"My parents have a summer house in France, in an all-magical village of course. It's quite beautiful" Rodolphus replied, tired out.

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><p>One day, Bellatrix whined: "I've got enough of torturing Muggles and Squibs. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OF THEM HERE!"<p>

"Why, you should have told me you wanted to live amongst the mud and filth instead" Rodolphus replied.

Bellatrix send him a death glare. "It's your fault that I have nobody to practise my Cruciatus Curse on." she bit. Suddenly, Rodolphus got a little bit scared.

"We can move back to Britain -" he began, but Bellatrix already seemed to have got a better idea. She prowled around her husband, looking at him jarringly with her bedroom eyes. Then she suddenly grabbed her wand and yelled the terrifying word: "CRUCIO!" before Rodolphus had any chance to block the curse.

His eyes rolled back and his whole body started to shake. His back arched in fearful tension. His hands clawed aimlessly at the ground. He only vaguely notice how he dropped his wand. This had to be the most horrifying feeling in the world. He could think of nothing that produced pain this complete, hitting every nerve of his body. His scalp felt like it was on fire. His face and the rest of his body felt as if all of his bones were crushed. His mouth felt like all of his teeth were slowly pulled. He felt like his fingers and toes were slowly chopped off. He screamed, but the sound that came out of his mouth did not sound like his own screaming. It sounded like the cry of a pig being roasted. He wanted to die and, then again, not... In a haze he saw his wife looking at him with malicious joy.

Rodolphus knew the effect of the spell of course, but the Dark Lord had been merciful a lot of times... Bellatrix, on the other hand, was not..

"Bella, please" he cried. He had never begged before to someone else except Lord Voldemort.

"He wants me to practise!" Bellatrix screamed. "He told me so! CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIOOO-" The last thing Rodolphus heard was his wife laughing madly, thinking that he had set foot in hell and there was no one to save him, before his whole vision started to spin.

When Rodolphus woke up, the surroundings looked blurry. He did not even realise where he was. His head lied on somebody's lap, but whose? Then he heard a soft sniffling sound, as a tear fell on his forehead. He shook it off and blinked. Suddenly he saw his wife's face above him, contorted with sadness - and a terrifying memory formed in his head. Had it been a nightmare? No... His body shook violently in fear and he stared wide-eyed at Bella. He had to get away from her - _right now_! He tried to get up, but his body was powerless.

"I am so sorry, Rolfie" Bellatrix said with a childish voice. "I couldn't help it. He told me to practise. I just want to make our Master proud!" She buried her face in her hands, and her body shook.

Then Rodolphus nodded. His wife's regret looked beautiful, enchanting. How could he expect to be a valuable Death Eater if he couldn't even withstand a Cruciatus Curse? Maybe he could get used to it somehow - what an incredible soldier would that make him! He would be invincible... And if the Curse was performed by Bella, at least there was a tiny chance of him getting used to it. He would associate the Curse with his loved one! He got a strange feeling in his stomach. Loved one? Since when did he think about Bellatrix in that way?

Bellatrix was his connection to the Dark Lord, which he feared and loved more than his own life... And a pleasant tingle ran down Rodolphus spine. That was the exact thing he needed. No one could truly feel what it was like to be living if they felt comfortable and settled... He needed to feel danger in order to feel tension. To feel sparks. And Bellatrix needed someone to practice her Curses on without the fear of being sent to Azkaban...

And thus they started their own duelling game. "Are you ready for your subjugation, ickle Rolfie?" Bellatrix would cackle.

And Rodolphus would look back into her mysterious eyes and reply "I am, Bella dear, but are you?"


	2. Marlene's story

_Here will come the story from round three, about detention with the character Marlene McKinnon, but because I find her difficult to write, so I have not finished it yet!_

*Stares at sentence with squinted eyes* Was I high when I wrote this? Nope, completely sober...


	3. Heart of ice

_This is round four and I had Severus Snape. The prompts were snow, mistletoe, cinnamon, Christmas tree and angel._

_In this story, the owl is from Lily, but she is delivering Severus' mail because he has a toad._

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><p><span><strong>Heart of ice<strong>

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><p>Snow was whirling down in the Great Hall and outside, turning the outside of the castle, the fields and the forest white. It was Christmas Day, or, as they called it in the wizarding community, Yuletide.<p>

Like the previous years, there were twelve very large Christmas trees standing inside the Great Hall, chopped from the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid, decorated with everything glinstening and sparkly. The meal was even more extensive and tasty than usual.

The staff members who had stayed were clad in festive robes.

It all had to mean something.

Professor Dumbledore held a little speech.

"I am most pleased to see that some of you like Hogwarts so much that you have decided to stay over for the holidays." he said enthousiastically. "Even though you are not with many, I still hope you will be enjoying your stay. We are going to make this a festive evening! I'd like to request your respect towards your fellow human beings, ghosts, creatures and animals. A blessed Yuletide everyone! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Jubilant Quaid-e-Azam! Peaceful Pancha Ganapati! Joyous early Kwanzaa! Glorious Feast of the Invincable Sun! Zestful Newtonmas! Did I forgot anything?"

Everybody clapped, so Severus Snape clapped along, even though it did not matter.

Students were laughing, some Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were swapping gifts with each other. A Ravenclaw girl was practising spells, turning the snowflakes blue, green, purple, orange. Some Muggle-borns said prayers together.

Somewhere at the Gryffindor table, Lily's friend Marlene McKinnon sat with Mary McDonald and those seventh-years, Frank and Alice. Losers, Severus thought.

Suddenly, a large, multicolored owl flew towards the Slytherin table. It held a big antique-white envelope and a brown package in his talons and dropped them on Severus' lap. Then the owl landed on the table and knocked Severus' goblet over, but he didn't mind. He was glad that at least Jude was still on friendly terms with him.

He stroked Jude's head and the owl closed its eyes appreciatingly.

"Bad weather, isn't it? But now you're here to warm up. What have you brought me?" Severus opened the letter and unfolded the parchment that was inside.

"_Dear attaché,_

_Vacation in Switzerland is quite nice. We are staying in a humble manor house which is not as comfortable as the one at home. My old man decided to go hunt some yeti's and it was rather amusing. We also have an excess here to most exquisite wines, champagnes and other liquors, including my favorite cinnamon brandy. Mother is a little nauseated from all the turkey, caviar, truffles and chocolate fountains. My Christmas present was quite useful: I got, as I expected, five hundred Galleons on my Gringotts account. __The only thing that's missing is Narcissa. She would have made my holiday complete. I hope you have a nice Christmas as well, staying with Dumbers in the collapsing castle._

_Yours faithfully,_  
><em>Lucius Malfoy<em>"

Severus did not know whether to laugh or set the letter on fire. In the end, he decided to laugh. He opened the package. It contained a letter written on Muggle paper, a green-silver scarf and a strange object. He unfolded the letter.

"_Dear Severus,_

_I hope you are having a nice Christmas at Hogwarts. Tobias has found some new things to fence, like your table and some of your old books. How he sold them, I have no idea, he probably managed to find someone magical. This is a Preservering Glass and it is meant to preservere magic. When you have a good day, you can tap on it with your wand and it will absorb your magic, so that when you have a bad day, you can tap on it twice and you get a little boost. __And I bought you a scarf in Slytherin colors, because I know you much pride you take in your house._

_Take care, _

_Your mum_"

Severus was much too curious about the object Eileen sent him to be angry about Tobias fencing all his stuff. The object looked like a normal round glass vial, except for the fact that it was filled with an amazing sparkly substance.

The scarf looked nice and warm, and it had the Slytherin logo with snake embroidered into it. It was beautiful.

Severus leaned forward to kiss Jude on his feathered head, and Conjured a few insects. "Here, I hope this will do as a Christmas present" he said in a chirpy voice as if talking to a child. Jude greedily picked out of his hand.

One of the girls sitting in front of Severus sniggered, the other looked disgusted. "Roaches!" she gasped. "Are you trying to spoil our appetite, batty, ugly Snivellus?"

Severus drew his wand and sparks were flying from it. "I hope you aren't too attached to your pretty faces, because I know Dark Magic that can destroy them forever" he hissed. They stared at him with anxious and repulsed eyes and did not say anything to him anymore.

Severus stroked Jude one last time and then watched the owl fly away.

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><p>He walked towards the indoor courtyard, which had always been a good place to hide. This time, however, the place was occupied by clingy lovers, standing under the mistletoes hanging on the pillars. Severus, realizing his mistake, wanted to walk back towards the castle, but stopped dead in his tracks.<p>

The doubts planted inside of him since that blasted Valentine's Day were immediately slayed. A love potion? A Confunding Charm? No. This seemed _real_.

Potter was kissing the girl wildly as if devouring a freshly caught prey, his hands roaming through the flame-red hair. At first, Severus did not think she resembled the girl he had so many fond memories of. Lily with the yellow dress and the floppy sandals, the freckles and the smile. But who was he kidding? She was Lily, apart from the horrible blush on her cheeks.

Alcohol, he thought in a last bout of desperation, even though he was mesmerized by the sight of Lily caught in the throes of longing. It was a cowardly coup de grâce when James Potter stabbed his double-edged sword into Severus.

Severus broke a few twigs from a rosebush, accidentally revealing his presence. James Potter stopped his kiss, and when he recognized the unwanted third person, looked him in the eyes with the deepest loathing. "Get lost, Snivellus. Go jinx Mudbloods with your Death Eater friends" he said.

But Severus ignored Potter, and looked at the stranger resembling his childhood friend. An ugly frown befouled her otherwise beautiful face.

"Severus" she stated coldly. There was no recognition in the emerald eyes anymore. "Were you watching us?"

"No" he snapped.

"Tell him to go away, Lily!" Potter protested. His hair looked even more disheveled than normal. Lily gulped and looked like she was hesitating.

The twist made Severus desperate with pain and rage. He whispered the incantations inside his head. _Incendio_. _Revulsus._

Immediately Potter's robes caught fire. Lily's pretty updo loosened and her hair fell in her face.

Suddenly, she looked even more disheveled than Potter when she shouted: "LEAVE US ALONE, SEVERUS!" Potter quenched his robes like them being on fire was of no importance to him.

James Potter withdrew the weapon slowly. Severus staggered backwards, trying to stop the blood spurting out of him.

Bright-red spots stained the white snow. Stuck on the sword was one half of a scarred, partially black organ. Potter dropped it carelessly in the snow.

But in his blind triumph he did not see that the other half of Severus' heart was still beating, that his enemy was alive. In his arrogance, James Potter forgot that ill weeds regrow apace, and that torn hearts can be mended with ice.

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><p>In Severus' head it had always been forever him with Lily in a yellow dress on a summer day in Cokeworth. Forever counting her freckles, lying with her in the grass under canopies of leaves, dancing together in the rain, flying from swings, hiding from Petunia, buying their school supplies together, covering Lily in blankets when she was cold and splashing her with water when she was hot.<p>

All the Christmasses he had spent with her and her parents and _Petunia. _All the snowmans they had made. All of everything, it did not matter.

His face distorted in pain and he tugged at his scarf. The present he had been so grateful for would never be a compensation.

He could not bear the fact that Lily Evans had chosen James Potter, out of everybody, above him. Severus hurried inside and towards the Front Hall, bumping into professor McGonagall. He did not apologize.

"Merry Christmas too, mr. Snape!" he heard her call disapprovingly after him.

He was going to _drown _Potter in poison. The irony! Carefully made, with the advices of his beloved... But unfortunately, that would surely get him expelled. That would mean he would probably never see Lily again. And the disappointment and desire to kill him would probably never leave Eileens face.

Defeated but still shaking with a vicious rage, Severus walked through the doors of the great entrance, that were open. He did not even pay any attention to the Slytherin hourglass as he ploughed through the thick layer of snow until he found a place to let himself fall.

After all the times he had begged and groveled at Lily Evans' feet, pleading her to be his friend again, she had refused, and maybe logically so, but this was more _vile_ than he could ever have imagined coming from her.

They laughed at Severus, the other Slytherins, so much trouble for a Mudblood. But their feelings were blunted and dull, and would never be fine-tuned. There was a part of Severus that detested Lily with a dangerous intensity, but there was also a part of him that told him that Lily's act was not vile, for that was not how he had known her.

Briefly, he submitted himself to an image of what things would have been like if they just were different. He, Severus Snape, would not have started kissing Lily before he had touched her face, the face of an angel.

He had never been good at handling beauty and goodness, but he would take care not to hurt Lily at all, never hurt her. The idea made him cringe. His touches would be like the lightest feathers instead.

He would caress her beautiful red hair, and braid it like Petunia used to do, Conjuring flowers and spending a day if needed to carefully place them between the strands. She would smile at him, and tears from happiness would spill from her green eyes. And when he kissed them away, his kisses would be as ever so soft, and as gentle as the cold snowflakes falling on his face.


End file.
